The Phoenix
by HeartDancer
Summary: Kel becomes a Shang after being banned from continuing her page training. What happens when she comes back, 3 years later, with her own student, deadly, with legends being written about her every day? Find out. No Pairings. Revised, after a very long absence!
1. Prolouge

Frankly, she was amazed. Keladry of Mindelan had gone, in six years, from the expelled girl page, the Yamani Lump, the probationer, to one of the most feared Shang warriors, the Shang Phoenix, with recognition from the Emperor of Carthak and the Empress of the Yamani Isles, her own student, and legends being written about her every day. The apprentice in question, Miya, also known as 5th rank princess, Miyabati don Fuginato, was sitting beside her, meditating on their long ride from Port Caynn.

Requested to teach at the palace in Corus, Kel was uneasy at what she might find there. When she was banned from continuing the page's studies she had so longed for, she left for the Yamani Islands, hoping someone at the Imperial Palace could teach her. She had spent a few months working there, trying to watch weapons practice, so she could learn _something_. Finally, her old training master, Nariko, had spotted her lurking on the edges and, after a long and hard interrogation, asked an old friend if Kel could be taught. The Shang Tigress was willing to train her, despite her age. With the Empress's approval, the Tigress began teaching her. The grueling pace, coupled with unending exhaustion from the long hours, soon began to shape her into the battle-hardened warrior expected from a Shang called the Phoenix.

About four months after her instating, she was approached by Miyabati, otherwise known as Miya, asking if she could be taken on as a student. Miya was 8 years old, but had been a Shang apprentice since she was three. Her master, the Eagle, had been killed in the Immortals war, at Port Legann. After wandering for awhile, the girl had gone to her father for a home, but he would not accept her, as she had gone to the Shangs without her father's consent. Now, she traveled with Kel, as her loyal student, and had been doing so for about two and a half years.

They were currently heading to Corus, as the Phoenix had been asked to teach some of the pages more advanced hand to hand combat. She was nervous, for she hadn't told anyone where she was going after she had been kicked out, and had sent only occasional letters every couple of months to reassure them she was still alive. However, she had been careful to never state where she was going or where she was. Her friends and family had not been able to communicate with her in three and a half years. They had no idea she was the Phoenix, or even that she was a Shang.

Seeing the palace, she roused her student, and she stirred from her meditation for the first time in half an hour. Eyes concerned, Miya asked her teacher, "Why are you so tense?" All she got in reply was silence. Miya was used to this. Kel had never talked about her past other than occasional mentions of what knights did, or how pages were trained, things anyone from Tortall could have known. Despite this, Kel had once been overheard talking to the Empress about her history, and Miya knew the basics. She knew that her teacher had been expelled from page training at the palace, but not why she had been expelled. For Miya, though, it was enough to know that her trainer was one of the best Shang to ever live, and that she disliked Corus. She idolized Kel, the woman who had saved her from life as a homeless, half- trained beggar. Miya would have gone to the death for her teacher. A royal invitation was a little hard to ignore, though.


	2. Chapter 1

After disturbing her student's long meditation, and arriving at the palace, Kel went to the gates and requested admission. "Who goes there?" a guard yelled, questioning them as part of normal procedure for visiting people.

"The Shang Phoenix and her student, come to train the pages." She responded.

She had the satisfaction of the instant reply, "Open the gates!", and of seeing the respect on the men's faces as she passed by them, a living legend.

After entering the courtyard, she was instantly assailed by memories.

"_You, a _girl, _want to be a knight?!"_

"_No, Peachblossom, don't bite!"_

"_Kel, I can't get my collar straight…"_

Miya, used to seeing her teacher fad into reminiscences at the oddest of times, sighed. _After what I know about her, this palace should bring back tons of memories. _She had resigned herself long ago to helping her mentor cope with the recollections. Shaking her out of her trance, she caught sight of a boy running toward them.

Watching the new Shang arriving was something exciting for the pages, and any squires who happened to be at the palace. Every couple of years, one stayed at the palace for a few months, teaching the boys hand to hand combat and how to fall. The last one, the Shang Wildcat, had left in their first year, going to Tyra to teach commoners. Neal, unlike the other soon to be knights, was preoccupied with other thoughts. _Kel would have loved teaching young girls how to protect themselves. She always thought commoners should be taught self-defense, especially girls. _Sighing, he looked at the Shang and her apprentice. Suddenly he noticed the tall build, the dreamy hazel eyes, and the old scar from the first and only time Peachblossom had managed to bite her, shortly after she became his rider. In other words, he saw Kel.

"Kel!" he whispered, running over to her and hugging her. "Where have you been, all we have heard in the last three years is that you were alive…" He trailed off; unsure she had even recognized him. Before he said another word, he was thrown to the ground and had a blade pressed to his throat by the young girl next to her.

Once the older squire laid a hand on her teacher, Miya's duties owed to her mentor as a Shang apprentice took over. The code that all Shang lived by clearly stated that a student must protect her teacher, with her life as necessary. To Miya, who owed the Phoenix everything, a hug from an unknown, foreign man qualified as an attack, and was dealt with accordingly. She began to speak, in Yamani.

"Cosavera de hacek ja, Mingcoru?" She asked, politely but curiously. Kel replied, "Hai, Miya, finad aluta hillla met. Ela non bea."

"What did she say?" Owen said, curious. The tall, bulky page standing next to him, also known as Merric, muttered something under his breath. A second later, Princess Shinkonami said clearly, "She said, 'Should I kill him, Phoenix?', and her teacher said, 'No, Miya, he is a friend. Let him up.' Apparently, Neal knows the Phoenix, and treats her like an old friend. Her apprentice, the girl, took offense at that."

"Why would her apprentice be concerned about that, of all things, and who in Mithros's name is the Phoenix?" one of the youngest pages asked, intrigued.

"Because, as the most feared Shang currently alive, her teacher has enemies. The Phoenix is the only living Shang to take an Immortal name, which are only granted to a precious few. The last died a few years ago. The Shangs give names based on ability, personality, country, fighting style. The Phoenix is the name given to those who are destroyed, but come back stronger than ever. No one knows where the Phoenix came from, she will not speak of it, but she joined the training 3 years late and, when she arrived, slipped into memories so deeply that, at times, she would not be awakened by an arrow striking her. Despite this, she is deadly, knows weapons and fighting techniques from every part of the world, including Tortall, the Yamani Isles, Scanra, Gaul, Carthak, Tyra, and the Copper Islands, and will help _any _person, be they of noble or commoner blood."

"How do you know so much, Your Highness?" Merric asked, wonderingly.

"My aunt is the Empress of the Isles, and she was the one who asked the Tigress to allow an older girl to be her student."

Walking up to the Shang, Lord Wyldon of Carvall introduced himself and asked her name. She said coldly, "My name is the Shang Phoenix, and my student is Miyabati. You requested our presence to train the pages."

"Milady, what was your name before you went to the Shangs?" he inquired, sensing something familiar about her.

"My name was Keladry of Mindelan, training master."


	3. Chapter 2

"Kel? Kel!" exclaimed Merric, and Cleon, rushing over to her. Owen, who had been told tales of Kel for years, ans shown all her letters, walked over a little uncertainly. However, before they could hug her for more than a second, Miya had Cleon by the throat, and Kel was pinning Owen and had flipped Merric onto his back, knocking the wind from him. All three boys were scared. Their old friend had attacked them, and her apprentice was seconds away from strangling the older boys. All she was waiting for was permission. They had not seen this happen to Neal, and so did not understand. However, Kel recognized the boys, her eyes widening slightly in shock, and started talking in Yamani to her trainee.

"It is fine, Miya. They just startled me."

"Are you sure, Phoenix? They _were_ attacking you…"

"Yes, Miyabati. I am sure. Release them."

Her protégé did so, but not without grumbling. "You know I hate my full name. What kind of warrior has a name that means 'Blossoming Flower'?" Miya chose her nickname because, while Miyabati meant 'Blossoming Flower', Miya alone meant 'growing' or 'changing'. When she had abbreviated her name, she had been facing the worst time of her life, but every new experience brought new knowledge. It fit her well, she thought.

Her teacher turned to the Princess, and bowed in the Yamani style, sinking to her knees. Beside her, Miya did the same, putting her forehead on the ground as well. As a disgraced daughter of a minor noble house, she had to show far more respect than Kel, who was a fearsome warrior and respected in the Isles. "Your Imperial Highness", she said in Yamani, "Please excuse my student's lack of respect. She is young, and impatient. I apologize in her stead."

"Apology accepted. I hope to become better acquainted with you, and your student, later. Surely one who is as famous as you knows the use of a glaive?" she said lightly. "Our dawn training group numbers four. Two more would be welcome."

"I would be honored to join you, Your Imperial Highness." She bowed again.

Lord Wyldon broke in, insulted at this failed page having the nerve to speak a foreign language, one he could not understand, in front of him. "Surely, you would like to see your rooms, Keladry?"

"Do not call my mistress Keladry. She is the Shang Phoenix, more famous already than you will ever be. You will address her politely, or not at all." Miya was uneasy, pressured, and snapped at the training master.

"Girl, you have no right to speak to me like that. I am the lord of Cavall, Training Master of the palace pages, and a well respected knight in this kingdom. I will speak to _Keladry _as I wish."

"You _haruki fitu_." It was definitely not a kind phrase. "You cast her out based solely on her gender, and now cannot see she is better than you. You are a blind, narrow-minded man, not fit to train geese."

"_Miya_! Enough. Be as a still lake. It may be disrespectful, but these northern _barbarians_ do not know any better, and I will not have my student get into a shouting match with anyone for my sake, invited or not."

A gasp went up among the pages, squires, and knights around the courtyard at the word 'barbarians'. No one, in the entire history of Tortall, had ever called the one of the most developed countries in the world barbarians to their faces. To do so now, with the queen to be, training master, and several knights looking on was one of the worst insults to give, and to do so in a language they understood was to tell them she did not care what they thought, and that they were of no threat to her._. _It was the height of contempt to call someone a barbarian. If this insult had been delivered by anyone else, to any person in Tortall, it would have meant a duel at the very least. However, as it was Kel, the pages, squires and courtiers filling the courtyard were too stunned to protest. She swept out of the courtyard, to her rooms, taking her student with her.


	4. Chapter 3

The next day, the Phoenix was due to begin training the pages. She awoke three bells before dawn, and shook her student from sleep. They went to an outdoor practice court. Beginning to stretch, Kel called out occasional tips to her student. As the sun rose above the horizon, they were practicing hand to hand combat, and had already performed the drills with the glaive, sword, and spear, and thrown stars and knives at each other. Their conversation was only about the practices and exercises they were doing, both being focused on their training.

"Get your arm up on the throw, Miya."

"Throw the punch a bit lower."

"Good. Try it again."

Ending with a game of fan toss, they noticed the pages staring at them. Hoping to awaken them, and test their skills, Miya threw a small dagger at them. Kel, however, snatched it out of the air and berated her student.

"They are not that good, yet. Once I tell you to, then you can start throwing knives at them. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Mingcoru."

The episode would have been funny, due to Kel's response, except for one thing. All of the pages were either staring at Miya in horror, as she had tried to throw a live blade at them, or in awe at Kel, for having snatched a live blade out of the air.

Breaking the tense silence, Kel asked each of the pages to come forward, in order to test their abilities. No one managed to last more than 15 seconds against her. Disappointed, she asked Miya to duel them, in the hope that they were simply too terrified of her to properly fight, but the results were the same. She then asked any knight to duel her, in order to show the pages that even the best of knights could be taken down by a fully trained Shang, and to warn them not to challenge a Shang, no matter their gender or appearance. For a second, no one answered her challenge, but then Lord Wyldon stepped forward.

"Can you best me, Phoenix?" he said coolly, although internally he was examining the problem from every angle.

"Let us see, Training Master." She replied, just as calm as he was. "What would you like to duel with?"

"Hand to hand combat, please. I believe Shang are very good at it."

"As you wish, Training Master."

Lord Wyldon was good. He knew that. _Maybe, though, if I manage to win, I can force her to leave. If not, then, as one of the best warriors alive currently, she can be convinced to ally herself with Tortall. Either way, Tortall will benefit. This match should take awhile. _

He was wrong. In less than two minutes, he had been pinned to the ground, with a foot on his throat, and his arms locked to the ground, unable to move. The pages were shocked. _No one, _ever, had managed to take down the Stump that fast. The defeated training master's thoughts ran parallel to his students'. _If she took me down that fast, it is imperative that she be allied with Tortall. _With this in mind, he asked her if she would mind coming to the king's study that afternoon, and set off to tell the king his advice as soon as she reluctantly agreed. _This was interesting, certainly. Maybe, maybe, she will agree. I certainly hope so… for Tortall's sake…_

_*After training*_

"Mingcoru, will you go?" Miya asked carefully.

"Yes. A good warrior may refuse to do something, but she does not refuse to be asked. You know this."

"Yes, but... what could they possibly have to say?"

"I don't know. Whatever it is, I cannot disgrace us more. I lost my temper earlier, and I fear it will not go well for us."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4—

_These pages know nothing, _thought Miya. _I can remember being this incompetent, _recalled Kel._ How did they learn all of this, _mused all but one of the pages. _Mithros, how many times that fly will run into the glass before it learns not to…_ wondered a first year page.

This made up most of the thoughts that afternoon.

After this, however, the thoughts changed. Kel's turned toward her meeting with the king, Miya's to concern for her teacher, with her flashbacks, and the pages' toward pain, exhaustion, and bruises.

When the lesson was over, she walked to the king's study, her student by her side. Wyldon and King Jonathan IV of Tortall were sitting inside. Once she arrived, they broke off whatever conversation they were having.

"Phoenix, please ask your student to leave. What we have to say is for your ears only." King Jonathan appeared tense, and wary.

"My student is fully capable of keeping her mouth closed, despite what you may think, and I have trusted her with my life before, many times." Kel said this calmly, despite the insult to Miya.

"Surely such an accomplished warrior does not have to rely on a twelve year old?"

"As you may have heard, I suffer from… flashbacks. Miya ensures that I am not disturbed or harmed when the recollections leave me unable to see the outside world. In addition, as she is my student, it is my duty to see that she gets the most experience possible."

"I see…"

Lord Wyldon broke in. "My lord, should we not get back to the matter at hand?"

"Yes, yes. So, Phoenix. Your talents are legendary, and you managed to beat the training master, one of the best of our knights, in less than two minutes. We wish you to ally yourself with us, be recognized as Tortallan, and in return you would receive a home at the palace, and a salary. Would you agree to this?"

"No. First, I will not serve the court that cast me out seven years ago, only because of my gender, and now wants me back because I am a good warrior. I would have been better had you actually given me a chance, but you didn't. Second, my only allegiance is to myself, to Miya, as my student, and the Tigress, who trained me. Third, Your _Majesty_, my only goal is to train girls, both nobles and commoners, how to defend themselves, and yet you will not even allow a girl to train as a page, even though it is legal. I will not stay here, in this palace, with a people who insult me again and again. I will be leaving shortly. You will be hard- pressed to find another Shang willing to instruct the pages once I am gone. Good day."

With this, she strode out the door. As the door closed, Jonathan, who was thunderstruck, said, "Well, that could have gone better."

After that day, no one ever saw the Phoenix again in Tortall, and it is a well known fact that, true to her last words to the king, no Shang ever stayed in the palace again. As the pages went untutored in hand to hand combat and rolls, year after year, they lost all of the knowledge that the Shang prided themselves on, until the day when no knight alive had been taught by a Shang, or knew how they fought. Then, they were defeated by one Shang, who fought with a style they did not know. They say that that was the last great act of the Phoenix, renowned for her skill in battle and hatred of Tortall.

"That, my grandchildren, is the legend of the Phoenix, the greatest warrior, and the downfall of Tortall, because Keladry of Mindelan was not allowed to try for her shield. Think on the lesson, and the high price paid by the kings of Tortall to learn it." A grandmother finished the story from her mother's mother's day, passed through the generations in the two centuries since the battle had occurred. "Good night."

The end


End file.
